Rental Car Experiences?

Comments

Then talk them to rent from someone who allows you to choose, at least. I think my employer gets "standard" or "full size", I see lots of Malibus and Fusions in the lot, smaller SUVs too. And if you rent a lot, you might get to choose from a better lot, National works that way.

My company uses National... I almost never need to rent a car for work, but for personal use, I use the corporate National account... There is almost always something decent in the Emerald Aisle (which is the base for the account)... and, at least I get a choice without asking..

Got a letter in the mail from Sixt today, sent direct from Germany. I forgot they use this method as a way to give a receipt - seems expensive, but maybe not really. Listed no extra charges, so apparently I didn't damage the car.

Interesting thing about this letter is a pile of random info at the bottomr - everything from license plate number to mileage to emissions. One number is "BLP" which is "bruttolistenpreis in EUR", which is MSRP. For the A8, it was 100,700 Euros, roughly $130K. Not bad, as it cost about the same price as a "luxury" rental from an American carrier, and less than any of the "prestige" choices.

Hertz tends to cost a bit more, but you generally don't get anything all beat up. Register for Gold status and you can go right to your car, plus that usually means you get the better vehicles. Avis cars don't seem as nice any more. Enterprise seems to vary a lot. At least that's my recent experiences.

We reserve Intermediate, but I'm part of the Emerald club and rent enough to be in the Executive selection, although I can't tell a huge difference between the two and as often as not I just pick what I want from the Emerald aisle.

Denver was pretty disappointing this week, they had a ton of Chrysler 200's, no thanks. I started to grab a base model Prius, but then switched to a 2013 Escape. Not a bad ride, but for the week I only averaged 19.9 mpg, I expected a little more from the Ecoboost in a 50/50 mix of city/highway driving and not driving aggressively. I want to like the new Fords but I've noticed most of the ones I rent have a rattle here or there, one Escape had a piece of weatherstripping loose on a rear window and the glove box in a Fusion was pretty flimsy.

I'm off to Pittsburgh next week, haven't been there in years so will see what their National fleet looks like.

I do agree with you on traveling personally, I pay more for a better car, it's definitely worth it.

I just rode in an Avis CX-7 driven by an out of town friend who is visiting. Pretty basic spec, seemed to have to work pretty hard to get moving. Or maybe I am just used to high torque vehicles with effortless acceleration.

I've had the CX-7 for rentals a couple of times, I wouldn't choose it again. Like you said it really struggled to get going, and overall was just blah.

I was in Pittsburgh this week, pretty slim selection. I ended up with a base Grand Cherokee, which was fine. When we turned it in there was a Dodge Dart in front of us in a powder blue color, while I like that you can get something besides white, black, beige or silver this blue was a little offensive.

Back to Denver next week, we'll see if they're still overrun with 200's.

Altima, though the car doesn't look bad in black, neither. I liked it but the steering was kind of numb compared to my Lancer GTS. And the turning radius was too large. Other than that I drove some 265 miles in those two days and paid only $25 in ghastly ta fill it back up. 8 odd gallons in to 265 miles gives you, what, 33 smiles to the gallon? Not bad, eh?

In my sister's case, her Subaru has ~130,000 miles and she didn't much trust it for the nine hour drive to Chattanooga for Christmas (especially after I kept harping on her overdue timing belt change).

I'll have to mention to her that part of the maintenance cost will be defrayed by the amount she saved not renting a car.

Yeah, but unlike the road she can call friends for a lift around home if she breaks down, and knows what shops to avoid. That was her justification for not doing the timing belt.

The other thing I kept harping on was that a $1,000 repair bill was only three or four car payments. For months and months I was afraid she was going to just go buy a MINI (with no nearby dealer) and get back on car payments - or use the ruined engine as an excuse. She finally decided she wanted to put off that hit to her pension for a while longer, bless her. :shades:

I think her rental car approach can actually work. It gives her a nicer ride for distance travel and helps her put off major car outlays. Meanwhile, sometimes you can rent for less than the 30 plus cents a mile car driving can cost. Depending on the deal, sometimes I rent for a trip rather than tacking on the mileage to my own vehicle. Gotta do the arithmetic. Of course, being a woman by herself and given all the nut jobs out there, a reliable vehicle can be a good safety insurance policy as well.